Metro Briefing | New York: Manhattan: Home Care Workers Get Raise

The city's largest union of health care workers, 1199/S.E.I.U., announced yesterday that it had signed a contract with three agencies that will provide raises to 2,800 home care workers. Under the contract, the agencies will guarantee raises of $1.10 an hour, raising the workers' average pay to $8.79 an hour, retroactive to June 1. The three agencies -- the Chinese-American Planning Council, the Tremont Community Council and the South Bronx Housekeeping Vendor Program -- have contracts with the city's Human Resources Administration to provide home care. The union is trying to reach contracts with 60 other home care agencies employing 45,000 union members. Steven Greenhouse (NYT)